[GUIDE] Snow Leopard on HP ProLiant Microserver N36L (AMD)

Posted 24 July 2011 - 07:56 PM

Chris-CDI

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right, time for some updates - I re-did everything...

If you follow the guide step by step then you shouldn't have any problems - the only things to watch out for are the following which i've come across - ##### - use the older version. not the latest one. [well that seemed to work for me anyway]

a few items i've come across which, being a non-programmer / new to mac / etc i would appreciate any help on -

the networking interface, regardless of how i set it up doesn't seem to work. i've tried all the options available to me, but it still won't connect. if i swap the ethernet cable over to my macbook then it works perfectly with the same settings (just a different IP address)

I have a trackpad (pending the new mini servers next month when i'll probably plumb for one) and whilst using a compatible bluetooth dongle for the keyboard and trackpad, the trackpad only responds to the basic gestures, and completely freezes up when you try swipe or do anything more fancy than scroll with two fingers.

I have noticed that when i go to set the screensaver the small screen preview shows up moving smoothly, but then when i test it there is plenty of judder. i know there has been mention made of the 64bit / 32bit issues with video; is there a workaround that is effective?

so far so good though - its really cool having 'another mac' for now. i'll have some fun playing around with it until the new mini's are out.

Posted 25 July 2011 - 02:29 PM

Still need to try some major data traffic on the onboard ethernet LAN port, but it seems to work as expected with the modded Kext. Worst case scenario is you may have to assign a static IP address.

HDMI audio on the 5450 is still not working A DSDT hack might help to do the trick, but i've lost faith in getting even a basic DSDT.aml compiled thus far to experiment. Grrrr!If HDMI audio is what you're after you may have to consider an nVidia option for now...

Posted 25 July 2011 - 07:23 PM

anyone know if we could use a low profile 6450 instead of the 5450 mentioned in the post? Not sure if power consumption was the reason that 5450 was picked?

Also, anyone just running on the integrated 4200? Is the procedure to install with that similar?

Cheers Sunil

Hey Sunil,

I don't see any reason why the 6450 wouldn't work instead.TonyMac's Wiki reckons that the MSI version works without too much hassle, which means that you shouldn't have any problems. (It might even work 'out of the box' with the Lion Kexts, as the Device ID (0x6779) seems to already be in the ATI6000Controller.kext file)http://www.tonymacx8...s_Card_Database

I initially chose the 5450 for it's price, but also because it ran silent.But in the end i got it mostly because it fitted in the bloody box! There are some great low-profile cards out there, but most have ridiculously clunky heat sinks or fans that quite simply won't fit because of the rail that the main board slides in on...

As for the onboard graphics, you should be able to complete the install and run the machine as is, but don't expect QE/CI or anything great in the resolution department.

Good luck with your install

All goes well until I try to run the ##### section Part 4 Point 2.I cannot see any an ATI 1.6.34.13 section, so I omit this and run the other parts but this locks up my installationAfter a few retrys (I use CCC to restore the image from my previous working changes, as I have 2 partitions on my mad HD) I conceded it and only installed the Kext helpers from ##### and was able to proceed.

The weird thing is, after this stage I need to press the power button during boot up to complete the boot as the system appears to hang for some strange reason, part way through. On verbose mode it stops at 'Map Segment Failed' and then after the power button is pressed is gives 'Jnl:disk03:Journal replay done' and continues (this happens every time from this point on)

Anyway, I managed to get the ethernet working and installed all of the ATI kexts for the graphics card. However, even with the com.apple.Boot.plist file (replaced) I get an unusable screen when trying to boot without the GraphicsEnabler=No -f command at the boot loader.

Hi tk007b,

I remember having a similar problem in the early stages of experimenting with numerous boot loaders and kexts.Took me a while to figure out that pressing the power button would jolt the boot process back into life.I also found that installing certain new kext files without repairing permissions would either kernel panic the machine, totally ruin my installation of give me the unusable graphics issues you described.

In all cases a fresh install from scratch sorted out all of those glitches.I know it's a real rash, but it's probably time and effort well spent in the end. It's also all too easy to miss the tiniest step and end up in trouble

If all else fails, try another branch or release of Chameleon. I've heard that RC5 v747 has been known to be quite buggy for some users...

I'm currently experimenting with Kabyl's boot loader and few others at the moment. I've even begun looking into compiling a slightly tweaked version with ATI Radeon 5450 support. But i'll publish an update the moment i get some better results

Good luck, dude!

PS. I just had another thought, always be EXTRA sure that ATI kexts from Lion ACTUALLY installed! I had a number of issues and wasted MANY hours when i finally discovered that the kext installer utility i was using didn't copy them over in the end & i didn't notice that they were't in the S/L/E folder. Grrrrr!

Posted 25 July 2011 - 10:07 PM

tk007b

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Forget 10.6.7 and take it straight to 10.6.8 and use the appropriate legacy kernel for that. Kernel numbers differ from OSX version numbers, confusingly enough. For 10.6.8 you need legacy kernel 10.8.0.

As for launchpad, I can't be bothered with it. You can drag icons over each other to create folders just like on your iPhone, so I suggest collecting the useless icons into dump folders, so they are easier to ignore.

I took fewer steps to get mine to work for what it is worth. After installing 10.6.0 and getting the network up and running I ran the 10.6.8 combo update until it finished and then before restarting I added the injector kext to the /Extra/Extensions folder and only the ATI5000Controller.kext, the ATIFramebuffer.kext and the ATISupport.kext to the /S/L/E folder. The rest are surplus to requirements. Next I ran Kext Utility. Use only this to repair permissions and rebuild the caches. OSX86Tools is obsolete and should not be used. Next I installed the legacy kernel. Reboot without strings or use -v -f if you have problems to see what is going on.

Thanks, but when I try 10.6.8 Combo, It freezes during boot.Will try again with a clean install, when I get a sec, and see what happens !

Hi tk007b,

I remember having a similar problem in the early stages of experimenting with numerous boot loaders and kexts.Took me a while to figure out that pressing the power button would jolt the boot process back into life.I also found that installing certain new kext files without repairing permissions would either kernel panic the machine, totally ruin my installation of give me the unusable graphics issues you described.

In all cases a fresh install from scratch sorted out all of those glitches.I know it's a real rash, but it's probably time and effort well spent in the end. It's also all too easy to miss the tiniest step and end up in trouble

If all else fails, try another branch or release of Chameleon. I've heard that RC5 v747 has been known to be quite buggy for some users...

I'm currently experimenting with Kabyl's boot loader and few others at the moment. I've even begun looking into compiling a slightly tweaked version with ATI Radeon 5450 support. But i'll publish an update the moment i get some better results

Good luck, dude!

PS. I just had another thought, always be EXTRA sure that ATI kexts from Lion ACTUALLY installed! I had a number of issues and wasted MANY hours when i finally discovered that the kext installer utility i was using didn't copy them over in the end & i didn't notice that they were't in the S/L/E folder. Grrrrr!

Hi Janitor,

Thanks for your reply and words of encouragement.

Will take a deep breathe, start over from scratch and will let you know what happens.

Also pleased that the power button thing was not unique to me.

Thanks again

TK

Lastly .. Do you have a view on Combo 10.6.8 update ? .. is it worth me trying that too, or is it a no no ?

Posted 25 July 2011 - 10:08 PM

SunnyD

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6 posts

Hi Janitor

Thanks for the heads up. I'll be hunting down 6450 then, will hopefully fit!!

I got frustrated today and ended up installing windows 2008 server because my usb hd wasn't working as a bootable with 10.6.7 loaded. Not sure what the problem is but it wouldn't boot with an error like, remove all disks. I didn't have a dual layer DVD for SL so ended up burning windows server, which worked!

Hopefully I can figure out what the problem is with the USB install method. So you know if I can install SL after Windows is loaded on the primary partition?

Posted 25 July 2011 - 10:29 PM

This one looks like it might just fit, but you'll need to check that it ships with a low-profile bracket. I would assume that it does due to the detachable VGA cable.

Only thing that looks worrying is that it comes with the proviso that a 400W psu is required, which sounds like complete overkill to me.

However, if your Microserver is the one that ships with the 250GB drive, just be aware that the psu was downgraded from the the previous configuration with a 160GB hard drive and now only has a top rating of 150W. Not a lot of headroom if you are stressing everything to the max, but it should still be ok.

Posted 26 July 2011 - 06:12 AM

Thanks Splonk. I'll probably still go for it and make sure not to push the system too hard, in that case

Any idea if I can install SL after Windows, btw?

This one looks like it might just fit, but you'll need to check that it ships with a low-profile bracket. I would assume that it does due to the detachable VGA cable.

Only thing that looks worrying is that it comes with the proviso that a 400W psu is required, which sounds like complete overkill to me.

However, if your Microserver is the one that ships with the 250GB drive, just be aware that the psu was downgraded from the the previous configuration with a 160GB hard drive and now only has a top rating of 150W. Not a lot of headroom if you are stressing everything to the max, but it should still be ok.

Posted 27 July 2011 - 01:16 PM

tk007b

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63 posts

Hi Splonk,

Firstly thank you !!.

Updating straight to 10.6.8 did the trick. However, for others I will recap on what I did and mention the issues I have/had

** Please note: I am just re-presenting Janitor's and your (Splonk's) instructions (word for word in parts) so should not take any credit for this, but hopefully it can be used as a quick setup guide by others**

2. From ##### I got Kext Helper b7 + Kext Utility (which was under 'OSx86 Software' )3. Installed both the modified IONetworkingFamily.kext and AppleBCM5751Ethernet.kext files using Kext Helper b7 (from #####)4. Reboot and it recognises the network adapter. However, as instructed, I set up the IP details manually as DHCP doesn't work.

5. I ran the 10.6.8 combo update until it finished and then before restarting I added the injector kext to the /Extra/Extensions folder and only the ATI5000Controller.kext, the ATIFramebuffer.kext and the ATISupport.kext to the /S/L/E folder. 6. I ran Kext Utility to repair permissions7. I also installed legacy kernel 10.8.0/10.6.8 update from here .. http://blog.nawcom.com/?p=7918. Finally, I copied the pre-edited com.apple.Boot.plist file to the Macintosh HD / Extra folder

Problems / Issues

1. As soon as I install the Kext helper and Kext Utility from ##### and reboot I have to press the power button mid way through boot up to jolt it backinto life as the startup hangs (not sure why running ##### has this effect on bootup)2. As some point (I forget where now, it stopped recognising my usb keyboard, a reboot didn't sort it , but unplugging the usb lead, from the keyboard, and plugging back in did)3. The same happened thing happened to my network connection, so unplugging and plugging the network cable back in sorted it for some strange reason.4. Safari, misbehaves as do other programs, but locating them in finder, clicking on Get Info and changing to 32 bit mode helps, although I installed Firefox as my default browser and that works just fine.5. Setting the machine to sleep, doesn't work properly it just attempts to and then wakes immediately, although this is not a big deal at all.

Lastly .. I use a VERY VERY cheap usb audio dongle from ebay for sound and it works fine (plug and play)

Hope that's useful and BIG thank you to SPLONK and JANITOR for all of their help !

Posted 27 July 2011 - 10:12 PM

splonk

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Hi Splonk,

Firstly thank you !!.

Updating straight to 10.6.8 did the trick. However, for others I will recap on what I did and mention the issues I have/had

** Please note: I am just re-presenting Janitor's and your (Splonk's) instructions (word for word in parts) so should not take any credit for this, but hopefully it can be used as a quick setup guide by others**

Cheers

TK

A tip before you go. Read the whole thread, not just one or two posts directed to you and you will solve a couple of problems.

Firstly, delete the BCM5751.kext from /S/L/E and rebuild the caches using Kext Utility. The BCM5751.kext is already in IONetworkingFamily.kext, so it gets loaded twice and this causes the DHCP problems.

Secondly, Kext Helper b7 and ##### do not always do a good job of installing kexts. Check that all the kexts are where they should be and check in System Profiler/Software/Extensions that they are getting loaded. Alternatively, type kextstat in a Terminal window and this will give you all the loaded kexts. Is IOUSBFamilyRollback.kext there? If any are missing, install them manually and rebuild caches.

I have no problems with booting, networking or anything on my rig except occasionally shutdown and sleep and for that we really need a DSDT.aml file but neither Janitor nor I can get one to compile at the moment.

Posted 29 July 2011 - 12:37 PM

I have followed the instructions to flash, using the original HP flash ROMand then have followed with the hacked ROMwhich all seems to work ok.

The part at which I get stuck at is what to do next.

I go into BIOS load optimal defaults, restart and go back into BIOS but cannot see anything to do with separating the eSATA port.

My bios versions shows up as 2.6.1

Many thanks

TK

Hey, bro!

So sorry about that! I REALLY need to get around to updating that damn guide! Just had A LOT of family drama to sort out lately... Grrr!

Anyhoo, check out the following forum post, it's buried near the bottom where you'll see a bunch of pics of the BIOS setup screen and some of the changes after the hack is applied. The important bits are under the new Chipset options. The last 4 or so images in the batch will show you where to go and what option to disable.

Posted 29 July 2011 - 01:36 PM

Sorry to hear you've got family issues, I hope it's nothing too serious and that they get sorted out soon

Anyway, this might cheer you up ... Did you know if you take the word 'Janitor', change the letters around, take a few away and then add a few ... you get the word 'HERO' ?

I'm sorted !!! once again !! DVD Drive is rocking

Thanks

TK

PS - My next challenge is to find out why, (from Finder) when I browse to a shared folder on my mac mini (real) that I see the share/drive name but get a message saying 'The operation can’t be completed because the original item for “USB Drive” can’t be found' when I try to open it. I have given the folder read permission to everyone and can get to it from Windows or Linux. I guess the fun never stops ... cheers !!

Posted 29 July 2011 - 09:24 PM

After POST, all I get is a flashing cursor in the top left corner and the USB thumbdrive is not being accessed. Have tried this with 2 different thumbdrives and 2 different retail images (dmg).

Any tips? What could I be missing?

Thanks.

Sounds like your computer can't find the bootable disk or partition you have just created...

Either:

a. There is another USB device (disk) being accessed before your USB Installer Disk. This has thrown me before when i've left a non-bootable USB flash drive plugged in after booting. Grrr!

or

b. Your computer is set to boot from the HDD (which probably has no bootable sector) BEFORE your USB Install Disk.You should be able to change this in your BIOS (press F10 at boot) setup by setting 'USB Device Boot Priority' under the Boot menu to 'High'

Posted 30 July 2011 - 10:18 AM

auMouth

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Hope this helps . . .

Heaps, thanks Made me realise a silly mistake of not relying on image burn/dumps on to USB to set the boot correctly. Re-partitioned, ensuing that the GUID boot was set, and then re-dumped the image to USB. Viola, and I'm away ...